1. Technical Field
This invention relates to devices for reducing the glare and brightness of visual display screens and, more particularly, to a pull-down, retractable shade for television screens.
2. Prior Art
The growth of cable and satellite television has made the TV set one of the most, important items in modern homes. With hundreds of channels now available from all., over the world, the TV is an important source of news and entertainment for today's households. Twenty-four hour news and sports channels provide around the clock information. As a result, the TV occupies an important position in the home.
Unfortunately, the glare, reflections and flashes of brightness associated with television screens can cause problems. Because the TV set is now used more frequently than in the past, the glare, reflections and flashes of brightness frequently emitted from the TV may bother people in the room who are not watching the TV, but rather, are trying to read, sleep, or otherwise occupy themselves. Often, the TV cannot be positioned to avoid bothering these individuals.
A significant portion of television units currently in use or being sold does not have anti-glare and/or anti-reflective treatments. These TV sets typically experience the aforementioned problems. The TV sets that do provide some form of anti-glare treatment insufficiently address the issues of reflection or flashes of brightness that inevitably follow. For example, anti-glare treatments such as etching and silica sprays have been utilized, but these reduce the contrast of the television picture by scattering light across the front surface of the television cathode ray tube. In addition, the consumer cannot apply these treatments.
Another problem facing the television industry is that anti-reflection coatings typically cannot incorporate anti-glare coatings because these coatings degrade the resolution of the display. As a result, television manufacturers have not adequately addressed the problems noted above.
Accordingly, a need remains for a TV screen cover that reduces glare, reflection and flashes of brightness without interfering with the quality of the television picture. Also, a need remains for a TV screen cover that-simply reduces the volume of light that a TV produces while on.